Siberia
by Just a Happy Wombat
Summary: As the time for her desired first mission had come, Nataliya had to face that she wouldn't be sent on it because of her rare illness. But did she accept it? Of course not. She escaped and now she is after the lost clue of the Lucians, but bumping into someone special all her plans go bust and she realises that not only the success of her quest, but also her life is on the line.
1. Prologue

**So, here's my new story. I hope you will like it! :)  
**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own The 39 Clues.**

* * *

 _ **Prologue**_

As the chilly wind entered the cave, her winter coat started to feel thinner, reflecting less and less warmth back to her system.  
The girl was lying in fetal position, shivering with cold, rubbing her hands together to keep a little body heat. Her skin was pale from the freezing temperature, her lips became bluer and bluer.  
The first signs of Hypothermia. She knew that really well.

The next symptoms to come would be faster heartbeat and memory loss, she remembered. Just another theoretical fact from her training that was proven to be totally unuseful on field.

 _Hopelessness._

That was all she felt. She was left alone there, _left to die_. Unable to move from the weakness that came over her muscles, there was nothing she could do, but to stare at the direction the man left.

She could still hear the barking of the dogs pulling his sledge, however she was sure that only her imagination was playing a cruel game with her mind. _Or the cold._

She sighed. Her breath was visible, coming out of her mouth as if it was her life. There was no way he would return for her. He'd made that one thing clear.

The girl closed her eyes, trying to stop a teardrop that was about to run down her cheeks. In that weather, it could have immediately frozen on her skin. What's more, she didn't want to die that way.  
Her father told her to stay strong in any conditions and she swore it.

 _Her father... Her parents..._

The thought sent old memories back to her vision.

 _Her always confident dad. He tried to look as strict as he could, but when it was about her, he always got soft and caring. She still remembered the proudness in his eyes when she passed the final agent exam a year before - at the age of 21 - on the first place, outstripping all the others, including that said-to-be talented new spy, brought there from Oxford._

 _Her mother smiling at her. How alone she would feel without her! After all she'd gone through before...  
Once, when the girl was young, her mommy noticed her stealing chocolate from her father's desk, but instead of scolding her, she took the attention of her husband to save her daughter from getting caught, then caressed her cheeks and gave a kiss to her forehead, saying that she had been about the same at her age._

She gasped. She had everything she wanted, but thanks to her thoughtlessness and stubbornness, she'd lost it all.

Except for one thing, that kept the shine in her eyes. She slowly digged into her pocket with her numb, icy fingers and pulled out the tiny piece of material.

The man could have made her a fool with his charm, his hot kisses and fake smiles, but his cunning mind had forgotten the real purpose of their mission.  
She wished to see his expression and his two troubled steal-blue eyes when he realised that she'd stolen the clue when he wasn't looking.

The old smirk appeared on her face. At least, she'd done something useful for her branch.

 _-.-.-_

 _Swoosh... Swoosh..._

As the snowstorm outside grew more intense, tiredness spread through her venes. Her eyelids started to close. But before she could have fallen asleep to a neverending dream, the object in her hands fell out from its wrapping and sparkled in the daylight.

 _Amber. One of the 39 clues, buried into the dust of time._

* * *

 **If you enjoyed it, please write a review!**  
 **Thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 1

**I'm here with Chapter 1, R &R please!**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1**_

 _One - two - three_

 _One - two - three_

The sacks, full of sand nearly fell as the agents hit them as much as they could. Their trainer was walking around to check if all of them was doing what he said, giving extra excercises to the lazy ones.

"We aren't Tomases!" An amber-eyed girl hissed after the man got far enough from her to be unable to hear what she said with her British accent. "Why the hell do we have to do that? I'd rather go to poison class!"

"No train, no gain!" Her boyfriend, Vikram laughed. "Anyway, just straighten your arm and then pull it back, he'll never notice it. You don't have to use any force. At least, your hands won't hurt after it."

"But her muscles won't get stronger either." She heard a blonde reply. " And she will be unable to fight if the time comes. To be honest, I would feel really guilty if I denied to learn these matrial arts moves because of simple laziness."

"Irina, we are Lucians for godness' sake!" The boy showed her his glamorous smile all the girls fell for. "Cheating is always allowed."

"But not on my lesson!" The trainer, who got close to them during their chat rose an eyebrow.

Vikram's olive face turned reddish. The girls couldn't help giggling.

The group spent the remaining minutes in silence, then they were released and left the room.

Suddenly, they heard the teacher call them.

"Miss Spasky, please appear at the leader's room. _Now._ " Irina and the others shared a confused look.

"Mr. Kabra, Miss Hollingswoth if you'd mind coming with me..." The trainer continued. "I think we should talk about that _"Cheating is always allowed."_ thing."  
Vikram grimaced in a funny way to Irina, not showing how nervous he was.  
"See you later!" Isabel smiled as the two of them followed the man.

 _-.-.-_

Frankly, Irina wasn't happy at all about going on her own. It was only the first week for her in the Lucian headquarters and it felt like a labirynth – compared to it, the complicated structure of Oxford was nothing.

She peeked to every direction, but her eyes didn't meet anything familiar. She had to admit the truth: she was lost.

However, there was no way she would have asked for help. She would have felt as an idiot that way. Still, she knew that it would be a huge shame, if she was late, so...

So, she went after her instincts, slowlier at first, then faster, then running, then...

 _Bang!_

Her head collided with the one of another girl about the same age, who was waiting in front of a wooden door.

"Hey!" Irina shouted with furry, massaging her aching forehead. "Are you blind?!"

The black haired girl wasn't in a good mood either. "Sorry, but you were the one who ran to me." She muttered shyly. "What are you doing here anyway? This is the leader's..."

Irina felt the relief fill her body. "Is that really?" She asked, not waiting for the girl to finish the sentence.

"Yeah." The black-haired answered, looking at her in a friendly way. "But who are you? I've never seen you here before."

"I'm new." Irina said easily, then indtroduced herself.

"I'm Nataliya." The girl shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you!"

Before any of them could have said anything more, an agent rushed out of the room, leaving the door half open. Of course, both of the girls sneaked to it and peeked into the office carefully.

It was filled with shelves and boring documents – the typical leader's room. And there, between the tons of papers sat a man behind his desk. Irina had never seen the Lucian branchleader before, only on pictures.

Still, to her surprise, it wasn't him who took her attention at most.

"Who's that?" She heard Nataliya's voice, full of admiration, which was enough to bring her back from the shock.

"Errr... Mr. Radov, I guess." Irina replied.

"No, not him... The other one." Nataliya's eyes were sparkling with curiousity.

Next to the desk stood a tall, handsome guy with darkish-blond hair and deep blue irises - suspiciously similar features to Irina's - and he was wearing a navy-blue T-shirt and black pants.

 _Typical_... Irina's glance was wandering from Nataliya to the boy and back again. He had this influence on each girl who went past him. And if she wanted to keep her new friend safe, she knew that she had to divert her attention from him.

"So...um..." She muttered to the other girl. Nataliya turned to her slowly, looking at her, waiting for her to say something.

"Ugh..." Irina had never ever, ever, ever, ever, – and so on – been a chatterbox, so it was hard for her to make up a good question, but in the end, she managed to mutter something to the girl.

"Pardon?"

"I just wanted to ask... why..." Irina groaned, trying to find the best words.

"Why I came here?" Nataliya smiled helpfully. "Because I'm about to get a mission." She straightened her back proudly.

Irina nodded, trying to look as interested as she could, not to tone the girl down. She just couldn't help it: she had completed tons of ordinary operations like spying on important people or breaking into well-guarded places like Fort Knox before and found no interest in them anymore.

Nataliya sensed it and laughed. "You have never taken part in the clue hunt, right?"

Irina shook her head.

"Then, you will understand it later. You know, it's like..."

Suddenly, the door opened, getting pushed to the two girls, who had been still leaning to it.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry!" The guy stepped out of the room, giving his hand to Nataliya and helped her up from the floor. "Are you OK?"

"I... I..." The girl blushed in embarassment. She was about to answer, but Irina jumped up from the floor and stood between the two of them.

"She is unharmed and if you would be kind and get out of our way and let us in..."

"Hey, sis, this is a pleasant way of greeting!" Alek Spasky laughed. "Cheers!"

Irina, rolling her eyes, grabbed Nataliya's arm and pulled her into the office.

"Wait, is he your sibling?" The girl asked her with disbelief on the way, but thanks to the furry evoked by her womanizer brother, Irina was just growling, not caring to respond.

She could calm down only when she shut the door behind her.

"Ah, Miss Spasky," Radov smiled at her. "I've heard so many good things about you."

"But before we start..."He turned to the confused Nataliya. "Darling, please take this folder to your mother. She'll know what to do with it."

The girl nodded and started her way towards the exit, but at the treshold, she stopped. "Dad, the mission..."

Irina's heart left out for a second.  
 _Fair enough, she got to know my brother by mistake and now I did it with her father, but..._

If the fact surprised Irina, the ice-cold answer the poor girl at the door got made her even more flabbergasted.

"Another day, sweetheart, another day." The man replied. He took his gaze away, cleaning his glasses with a tissue.

Nataliya let out a sad sigh and walked away...

.

But not too far. Actually, she stopped outside and pressed her ears to the door, listening to the conversation.

"Sorry for the interruption, you know, my daughter had been dreaming of becoming an active agent for a long time. Unfortunately, she will never be able to make it." The man told Irina.

Nataliya's heart shrunk. However, the worst part for her was yet to come.

"Miss Spasky, I'd called you on a tremendously important purpose." She heard her father continue on the other side of the door. "Earlier this week, we found a manuscript from Luke Cahill himself, ordering one of his agents to hide something from the Janus branch in Siberia. We've got reasons to suppose, that it might be about the lost Lucian clue we've been searching for for hundreds of years." The man paused for a minute. "Your job is to track it and bring it back to us."

The next words sounded insignificant for Nataliya. The last thing she heard was something like "Your train is leaving today, at 21:00."

Peering with disbelief, she took a few step backwards.

 _No. She's a newbie... A total rookie cannot get such an important quest... No!_

She winked away a tear from her eyes _._

 _I am too vulnerable because of my illness?! I will never be good enough to become an agent?! Well, father, we'll see!_

* * *

 **To be honest, this was the chappy that took the most time to write, because... well complicated... so I would be really grateful if I could get some feedback. :)**

 **What's more, I had to reform Alek and his personality a bit in my mind after reading the sneak peek of Mission Hurricane. (No offense, but he is a cold-hearted asshole...)**

 **So, please share your opinions, reviews are highly appreciated!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Here comes Chapter 2!**

 **R &R please!**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 2**_

 _The 21:00 train from Moscow to Novosibirsk will be delayed 10 minutes. We are terribly sorry for the inconvenience._

The announcement was echoing from the massive concrete walls of the railway station.  
Although it was in the evening, the spacious hall was crowded with people – passengers and aquaintances or relatives who were talking loudly while waiting, creating the well known athmosphere.

In that hustle and bustle, it was nearly impossible to find someone. However, searching was the only chance left for the girl.

Having escaped from the Lucian stronghold, Nataliya took her way to the platform she'd heard her father talking about.  
She wanted to prove him that she was the really best agent. She was fed up with him talking to her as if she was a three year old child who wanted to enter the adult world.  
No. She was 22, about to break free from her cage.

She looked around impatiently, waiting for her victim to appear.

That girl named Irina looked nice for the first time, but Nata couldn't help hating her for stealing her mission, not even if it wasn't the other girl's fault.

 _Let's see… I saw how fast she could run on the trainings, so I should not chase her. Hand to hand combat is no option because of my Hemophilia – a simple cut could make me bleed to death… Then this will do._ She thought, pulling off the top of the ring on her index finger. As the blue material moved away, a little needle became visible inside. Connected to that, under a thin layer of metal took place the tiny poison tank. It contained a rare toxine, not deadly, but it could have kicked out even an elephant for a few hours.  
And all Nataliya needed was a couple of minutes. Just to make Irina fall unconscious and steal her ticket.

The gaze of the girl wandered around rapidly, checking every detail, pieces of information to identify her. Certainly, the Lucian agent would come in some kind of camouflage.  
Everyone was suspicious.  
The old lady buying newspaper metres away, the teen listening to loud music… _or the student running for the train with books in her hands._

Nataliya had that old feeling appear in her when she found what she wanted. As the student turned her head to the left, a golden piece of hair came visible between the brown locks… or rather from her wig.

Adrenaline filled Nata's body, sending wild electric waves down her spine. Her senses came sharper.

She sneaked to Irina, but hesitated for a minute. She'd never attacked anyone before, just those puppets on the matrial arts lessons and she had to admit that she was scared to do so.

Her breathing fastened, her pupils got wider and wider.

Then, she jumped into action.

"Hey, Irina, how are you doing?" She asked in a friendly tone, putting her hand with the poison ring onto the girl's shoulder.

Irina looked at her with disbelief.

"Nataliya? What are you doing here?" She asked, right before losing her eyesight, falling on Nata.  
She put her hands around Irina and dragged her fast into the mechanics' room near them.  
The people around could have seen nothing, but a girl helping her sick friend out.

Nataliya put the unconscious Irina to the floor carefully. Her brain was full of doubts.

 _Irina saw her. The Lucians will know about it. Her dad. Her mother…_

Suddenly a _tooting_ sound interrupted the long current of her thoughts.

She ran out to the platform to take pleasure in the black iron body of the train.  
She took a deep breath.  
 _Who knew where it would take her? Who knew if she would return alive?_

Nataliya did what she learnt in that situation: she stoped wondering and got on the train, ready to face her fate.

-.-.-

It was like a ghost-train. There was noone to check her ticket, no passenges, no crew.

 _Maybe I took the wrong one…_ She thought and was about to turn back, but the surface under her legs started to move.

With a surprised cry, Nataliya grabbed the first thing available not to fall. In other cases, she would have reprimanded herself for that scream, but being sure that she stood alone in that car, she just took a seat.

 _It's OK. I'm there. I wasn't caught. Pull yourself together!_ She tried to calm herself down.

After her blood pressure went back to normal, she dared to pull the dark curtain away to look out of the window.

The train was already out of the city, rushing through snow-covered trees.  
Then as its way curved and it turned to the right, she could see the other cars in front of hers. To her surprise, a flickering light came from one of them.

 _So I'm not alone._ She mumbled. She wished to go and see who was there, but it would have been like commiting suicide.

Finally, she took the bag off her back. She had nearly no time to pack food and equipment into it, because she had to leave her home before her parents arrived back from a conference.  
However, she could still steal some cupcakes from the kitchen. _Yumm!_

She unpacked them, eating them piece by piece. They reminded her of the old times, when she went iceskating with her friends – the few agents she met in the Lucian fort. They used to bring those cookies with them for lunch.

But to her disappointment, her food supply didn't take as long as she wanted it to.

After six hours, the train was still emerging towards the unknown. That was when Nataliya had to learn what a cruel thing starving was as her stomach started praying for more and more.

And her brain knew very well where to get it.

The more times she dreamed of it, the less she could resist the craving under her skin to go to the other car. In the end, her curiousity and huger came so strong, that they won against her logical mind and forced her to go.

-.-.-

The wind nearly blew her off the train as she went to the open air to climb to the back of the car next to hers. What's more, she had to be agile – who knew when the people would notice her.

She had commited the biggest jump of her life. She grabbed the handle of the door and took the hairgrip out of her hair.

She had to unlock that door before her arm got weak and she fell under the train – which she didn't even wanted to think about.  
So she started to work on it.

 _One, two, three… One, two, three…_

But the door wouldn't open.

More and more desperately, she tried and tried, murmuring a prayer into the air.

Then, as if her wish had been heard, came a _click_ and the girl fell into the car with a _bang_.

 _Ugh!_ She groaned, standing up, closing the door behind herself.

Nataliya walked silently next to the cabins to the direction of the voices she heard from the distance. The closer she got to the cabin with the people in it, the clearer they became.  
Finally, she was there, standing at its door.

Giggling came from the other side of it – from about three women.

 _I shouldn't have been afraid of that gaggle._ Nataliya rolled her eyes, laughing to herself.

But then, the female voices went quiet as a male one came, a familiar, deeper one that sent chills down her spine and made her heart melt.

 _The food must be somewhere here!_ She tried to get back to the point, but couldn't help keeping the frightened expression on her face.

 _Ok, I'll go for it and then return to my car._ She promised herself. _They won't see me._

She ran to the last part of the car, where the snacks were suspected to be held, but it was empty.

 _No! Nooooo!_ She wanted to cry. She just sat down to the floor, desperately, letting all her hope fade away.

Then, she felt a strong hand land on her shoulder, caressing the side of her neck.

"Girls," Alek Spasky said mockingly. "seems our little free-rider is hungry!"

* * *

 **Yup, sorry for making Alek look this way, but... well I have my reasons... xD**

 **Also, please share your opinion/ predictions!**


	4. Chapter 3

**Here's chapter 3, I hope you will like it! :)  
**

 **(R &R please!) **

* * *

_**Chapter 3**_

Alek caught Nataliya's arm and pulled her with himself to the cabin the girl had gone past before. There, he'd called a member of the crew and in no time, a huge bowl of hot soup was vaporing in front of her.

However, Nataliya could only stare at him, not understaning the situation.  
 _I sabotaged the mission. He doesn't even know me. Why does he help me then?  
_ Thoughts were coming and leaving her mind. She was just there, sitting, breathing in the pleasant smell of food and peering at his face.  
His handsome features, his two sea-blue eyes… The girl got under his spell without even realising a sign of it.

"What are you looking at?" Alek asked, losing his patience. "Eat!"

"But…"

"Then starve." The man simply added, making the other girls standing at the door laugh.

Nataliya's heart shrunk. She had a feeling that her face turned as red as a chili pepper. And the way her new companion were splitting their sides was just another proof of it.

It was Alek again, who spoke for the first time.

"Sweethearts, please, leave us alone for a moment!" He said. Although he was talking with a low voice, all the women heard it and went still.

"Alek!" One of them wanted to protest, but as Alek gestured towards the door, they obeyed, shooting a last, jealous glance towards Nataliya, messaging something like _You will pay for it!_

When the door closed with a loud crack, the guy turned to Nata.

"So, Siberia." He observed the snowy landscape through the window.

"Pardon?" Nataliya asked, getting more and more confused.

"You can stop playing the stupid chick who just fell onto the train by mistake." Alek smiled.  
 _Hey, I'm not a stupid chick, just because I got here. It was well planned and…_ Nataliya frowned.

"I know that you are my so called comrade who was sent to 'help me out'." He continued. At the last part of the sentence, his grin grew wider.

 _He thinks that I am his agent partner?_ Nataliya gasped. _The one who works with… with him?_ The happiness rushing through her venes made her dizzy, causing her anger to evaporate.

"Ok, you got me." She replied finally, trying to act as if the man was right. "Then, um, what are we planning to do?" She asked. For a minute, she was mad about herself not paying enough attention listening to her father's conversation with Irina.

Alek felt her insecurity and rose an eyebrow.

"I was told that the Lucian coming with me would have all the instructions needed."

"Ah, yes, the instructions!" Nataliya smiled in embarassment. "Now I remember! It's… um… let's see…"

Alek crossed his hands above his chest, waiting for her with interest sparkling in his eyes.

 _What to do?_ The girl had no idea. She had heard about the assassin and his _methods_ and after that, there was only one certain thing: if Alek realised that she had been lying to him, she would possibly end up in pieces – small ones.

"Eh, it must be in my pocket." She groaned, doing as if she had been searching for a letter. "Ah, no, not, seems I took the wrong trousers..."

"You don't have it, do you?" The man asked with annoyance in his voice. "You don't have it because you've never received it, right?"

Nataliya nodded slowly. _I'm finished. He will kill me for sure._

Alek stood up from the table and walked behind her.

"Then, there are three options." He said. Nataliya felt the warm air he exhaled on the back of her neck.

"The first one," He said and took her hair into his hands, examining the long black flocks. "is that you are truly an unlucky idiot landing here."

"The second one," He dropped her hair. "is that you are a spy from another branch to kill me."

Nataliya gasped. _How could he believe that she could ever take out the life of anyone? She nearly failed when she had to get herself poison Irina – and that was really far from murder._

Her thoughts were interrupted as Alek leaned onto her chair to put his mouth close to her ears. "You know what's the third one?" He whispered the question into her ears, sending electric waves down Nataliya's spine. "It's that you were sent here because your beloved daddy doesn't trust me. Because I'm not a loyal agent of him, but a freelance one, working for money, not crazy beliefs. Right, Nataliya?"

The woman shivered as he pronounced her name for the first time.

"So, who are you?" The man asked. Power was radiating from his body. There was no way for Nataliya to run away. A movement and she was dead. All her thoughts got mixed, she couldn't answer from the desert-like drought in her throat.  
She was afraid that she would melt like an icecube if he touched her.

"I thought that your father was smart enough not to send someone like you after me." Alek continued. "Seems, I was too positive about him."

Nataliya's eyes widened. She had been insulted by the man – and what's worse, her father was also offended. That brought the strength back to her in the form of furry.

"You, you big headed…" She shouted, standing up from her spot. "I'm done here!"

But as she left the chair, the train's break was pulled catching the girl by surprise.

Falling to one side, Nataliya landed on something soft. Soft and groaning… and swearing in Russian.

Alek was there under her, their heads only inches apart.

"A-lek." She blushed. Then, she tried to get up from the ground, but Alek gathered his arms around her hips.

"Stay." He murmured.

With hotness filling her body, Nataliya leaned closer to him. The distance between their lips shortened and shortened. And then…

"What the hell are you doing?" Alek asked, looking at her with disbelief.

Nataliya shook her head in shame. She couldn't believe that she nearly… nearly…

"I'm so…" She started, but the _sorry_ was left out, because Alek put his hand on her mouth.

"Shut up!" He whispered. "Listen!"

 _Crack._

 _Crack._

 _Crack._

The sound of footsteps on the old floor with little holes inside was coming from the left of them.

"The train wasn't supposed to stop here." Alek murmured. "You aren't the only one who had sneaked onto it."

* * *

 **Yeah, cliffy... xP**

 **Here's a hint in return: _In the next chappy you will see what's gonna happen, but not only in connection with Nata or Alek. ;)_**


	5. Chapter 4

**Hey Readers!**

 **After a century Chapter 4 just got ready, I hope you'll like it!**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 4**_

The rattling of the train. The sound of footsteps. Alek's heartbeat.  
And the mixture of these three: a symphony of a crazy musician, the death itself.

Nataliya had no idea how long she had been lying on the floor with the man, waiting for the sinister noise to die out, but when it finaly did, she felt no sorry to break the body contact with Alek. Especially after that nearly-happened kiss.

"They must have stopped." Alek whispered to her ears. "I will go and check them out."

Nataliya nodded slowly. She wasn't sure if she had to be happy about Alek leaving the cabin. On one hand, his presence started to become really embarrassing for her, but…

Her thoughts were interrupted by the man who softly rolled her off himself and stood up. Instantly, with the lack of his body heat, the air around the woman turned colder.

Then another crack could be heard, that time louder. The enemy wasn't far.

"I'll come too, wait!" Nataliya decided.

"Someone's afraid?" Alek grinned.

"No, I just don't think it is a wise idea for you to go alone. Together, we have a greater chance to survive in case of a battle. " She answered coldly, but to her surprise, Alek burst out laughing.

"You… help… me? That's the best joke I've ever heard!" He wiped a tear of joy out of his eye. "You are just a spoilt princess who cares for nothing but clothes, make-up and hairdo. And you are going to help _me_ out? Women…"

 _What a male chauvinist!_ Nataliya growled to herself. _He doesn't even know my name, but he's already built up a picture of my personality in his brain. What's more, he's terribly wrong!_

She gathered all her strength together and took a deep breath.

"It's not your job to decide what I should do. I will go with you and our discussion is over." She replied confidently.

"No, you won't." Alek responded with annoyance over his shoulder. "You will hide here and wait until I'm done."

"It's not only _your_ mission!" It was hard for the woman to keep murmuring instead of shouting. "It's _my_ fight too. We are partners, remember?"

"Darling," Alek turned back to her so that Nataliya could see his face. There was no need to use her training skills to translate his expression. The way his eyes shimmered, the pitiful smile on his face: pure disdain. "yes, we are comrades," He was speaking like that he had been explaining it to a toddler wishing to copy all the adults' moves. "but we aren't on the same level. And now, being your commander, I ask you nicely one last time to shut up and hide under that goddamned table. Understood?"

The woman gasped.

She was about to reply something twice so striky, but Alek sneaked out to the corridor.

-.-.-

Minutes had passed, nothing happened. No voice. No sign.

Nataliya hugged her legs with her hands. She was still sitting on the hard floor.

 _What keeps so long?_ She asked herself. _What if…?_

 _Don't dare thinking about that!_ Her mind answered. _He will be OK. And if he won't… Well, that wouldn't be a great loss of humanity._

Suddenly, a shadow came visible through the darkened glass window of the door.

 _There's someone._ She felt the blood freeze in her veins (which was an unsusal phenomenon with her Hemophilia.)

The shape of the shade didn't suit to the one of Alek. The man had strong, wider shoulders and muscular hands, but that one at the other side of the door rather looked like a skinny woman.

 _Those b…_ Nataliya hardy ever used swear words, not even while thinking, but that one nearly came out. _So, those women of Alek disappeared a way too fast._ She narrowed her eyes. _Way too fast…_

Then, the shadow swooshed away.

Nataliya reacted so quickly, that the next thing she saw was the picture of a boat on wild tides. The one hanging on the yellowish-brown wall of the corridor outside.

-.-.-

 _That guy couldn't have turned into dust! Where are you?_ Alek Spasky growled, spinning his beloved iron spear. _Where?_

He smiled as the rod turned into a big black line as it circled aroung his finger. Another job. Another kill. It's all the same.

 _Fighting for what you believe._ He wondered how his sister could do that every day. She was like their mother, a cheerful girl full of hope with a bright future.  
No wonder, all that left for Alek was the coldhearted genes of his father. No remorse. No love…

 _That strange girl there knows nothing._ Alek hissed to himself. _She must have a normal family, a pleasant life… I cannot even understand why she came to this quest._ He rolled his eyes _. But why is this bothering me? Why do I care if she's alive or not?_

He sighed. At least he wasn't just an assassin. He was _the_ assassin. The best. The deadliest.

And the one decided to get on their train to catch him was an idiot - soon to be eliminated.

He turned left as he heard a crack of a door. _No movement there. False alarm._ He thought, but then someone jumped to his back.

The man was wearing ninja clothes and was holding a katana in his hands.

 _A Tomas._ Alek realized.  
Maybe he paid no attention to Lucian affairs, but he knew the basics really well.

Before the ninja could have cut him into halves with his sword, Alek let go of his spear.

However, the man was well trained enough to dodge it.

Then, he kicked, missing Alek's stomach with about a decimetre.

"Go back and practice aiming!" Spasky laughed, but the man smiled back to him.

Alek looked at him questioningly and then he saw it. The ninja took the remaining spear-rods out of his pocket.

"I will practice," The man laughed. "with your spear," He launched into spinnig the rod. "on you!"

-.-.-

"Ugh, this car hadn't seemed to be so big before!" Nataliya groaned tiptoeing from a cabin to another one.

Sometimes she touched the poison ring on her finger. It was the only weapon she had at that moment. And the only thing that reminded her of her home.  
It was a gift from her father for passing her final Lucian exam. He told her that it would protect her when he couldn't be there.

"Such a gaudy piece of jewellery. It can be useful, but I'd still prefer a gun." A silky voice came out of the blue. "And how is our beloved male? I hope you'd pampered him enough before it got too late."

* * *

 **Cliffy as always... :P**

 **Opinion? o.O**

 **Ehh, I couldn't put in the promised other thread into this one, because then the chappy could have become too long compared to the others before, but I swear you'll be able to have a peek of it in the next one!**

 **See you then!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Hi!**

 **Sorry for the last update looking thingy, I just clicked the wrong time to the wrong place... xP**

 **But now, C6 is truly here, although I still have bad feelings about it. Lol, seems my writing skills are going down... Somehow I have less good ideas and it takes more time to write each chappy... Eh... maybe I'm losing interest... IDK... I really need the next book... xD**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 5**_

Nataliya found herself facing one of the women who had been flirting with Alek previously.  
This time, when the girl could examine her from smaller distance, she had to admit how pretty the blonde was.  
 _Pretty and conceivably deadly._

"Oh, please don't look at me this way, dear," The stranger smiled. "I don't want to hurt you _right now_. I just want to talk… But not here. Come!" She smirked and embraced Nata's shoulders, trying to take her somewhere, but the girl froze and was harder to move than a block of concrete.

"I said come!" The woman repeated it louder, but still kept her voice low enough not to yell. Then, she pushed something to the already pale Nataliya's side.

At first, she thought that the mad looking beauty just pooked her, but then as she took a peek down, Nataliya had to realise that a gun was pointed at her. Letting out a frightened moan, she let herself be leaded to a cabin at the end of the car.

There, the woman pushed her into a seat and poured wine into the two glasses in front of them.

"My name is Ada." She sat gracefully right opposite Nata and rested her hand with the pistol on the arm of her chair.

"I am…" To her own surprise, Nataliya didn't forget about good manners even in such a situation, however, Ada interrupted.

"I do know who you are." She said. "The daughter of the Lucian head. I had got introduced to your whole family by chance. You know, I still owe your father a _favor_."

Nataliya's eyes widened. From what she had told her, Ada sounded to be her ally. _But why was she aiming the barrel to her head then?_

"To be honest, I was a bit disappointed when I noticed that you didn't recognize me. I used to be a high ranking Lucian agent after all." Ada took a little sip of the wine. "How are your parents anyway?"

 _An ex-Lucian… interesting…_ Nataliya rose an eyebrow. "Why did you bring me here?"

"You are the fan of getting to the point, aren't you?" Ada laughed cheerfully. "All right, let's see… I am aware of that you were sent here with a reason. A clue, to be more precise. The Januses hired me to steal it, but I couldn't after hearing that my branch was involved. All I want is to help you, but I can't take a step without the hint you had previously received at the briefing."

 _The hint again…_ Nataliya groaned. _Why can't they just live without it? And why did Alek send her away when he wanted to talk to me about it? One of them must be lying. But who?_

"Is there any problem?" Ada asked with an anxious expression.

 _She's too nice…_

"Nataliya? Are you here?"

"Sorry, I just froze." Nata smiled. "It is really kind of you, but I'd rather go alone. I have been waiting to prove myself for hundreds of years and I feel that my time has come."

Ada nodded, then stood up, turning her back to the girl. "I understand it." She muttered reluctantly.

"Anyway, what's with you and Alek?" She asked. "Are you his new girlfriend for today?"

Nataliya gasped. This question was something she didn't expect.  
 _Maybe Ada has feelings towards him? Does she really think that there may be anything forming between us? And why did she say "for today"?_

"So you're not." Ada concluded from her puzzled expression. "Then I'll have to find someone else to chat about his kissing methods… Oh, if you knew how cute he can be when…"

 _WHAT? They, Alek and this… they just k…_ The girl's heart left out a pace. _Is she about to peeve me?_

"Nevermind…" Ada laughed. "Alek had always been a perfectionist. He wans only the most… how to put it… gorgeous females. But believe me, it's better for you this way."

"Oh, it is." Nataliya smiled. She could have never forgiven herself if she had shown any sign of what she really felt inside. "To be honest, he isn't really my type. I'd prefer the polite and honest ones, not the rough cavemen."

"I see." Ada frowned. "Anyway, have you known that our families had had a marvellous relationship for about… um… so, lots of years? Until your lovely daddy decided to eliminate mine..." The sweetness in her voice, the simple way she had been speaking scared Nataliya.  
 _Maybe she is perfect from the outside, but her mind is not OK for sure._ She thought.

"It started as a visit for us from Italy to Russia and see what happened? We were said to be a threat and a group of ninjas were waiting for us in our hotel room."

The realization came unexpectedly fast to her: she remembered who the woman was… Or rather who her parents were…  
Ada noticed it from the way Nata stared at her and burst out laughing.

"Hey, look, the memories are coming back! At least I don't have to revise the story before I end your life. Your father killed mine, it's fair enough that his daughter avenges his death, isn't it?"

"You are wrong. Those were Ekats, not Lucians who attacked you…" Nataliya gasped. "They just made it this way to divide us…"

"Shut up!" Ada interrupted. "You're finished wh…!"

Throwing her gun away, she threw herself at Nata like a wild animal and began to smother her. The girl looked up, but couldn't see anything from the black locks of hair falling to her face.

 _Monkey kick._ Her training got back to her.

She kicked her legs back to rise from the ground and caught a hold on the other woman's wrists to turn themselves in the air.

When Ada's back hit the floor roughly, she immediately lost her consciousness.

Nataliya stood up and emerged out of the cabin.

"Alek, Alek, where are you?" She shouted desperately as she made her way to the other side of the car. And after a minute of seeking, she noticed him…

-.-.-

Alek Spasky froze.

Not from the sight of his own weapon being used against him, but the mahagony chair dangerously approaching from the behind.

With a battle cry, Nataliya hit the ninja with the piece of furniture from the behind, breaking its leg on his head.

"You truly have a hearing disorder." Alek growled. "What are you doing here?"

"Was that supposed to be a _'Thank you!'_ for saving your life?" Nataliya rolled her eyes, but she lost her cold attitude as she heard a gunshot, not even far from them.

"Ada must have revived…" The woman groaned.

"Wait, you knocked her out?" Alek gasped.

 _Yes, I did. Now, are you proud of me?_ Nataliya's eyes shimmered, but it wasn't a compliment what came next.

"And you left her weapon with her?" Alek buried his face in his hands. "Oh my…"

The sounds became louder. The woman was after them.

"I'm sorry, but…" Nataliya searched frantically for any kind of shelter. "What now?"

Alek let out a sigh. "We'll jump."

-.-.-

Harsh yellow light blinded her vision. Not as if her splitting headache wasn't enough...  
And that wasn't by far the worst part of her day.

Irina Spasky had been fooled on a mission the first time in her life. And it didn't do anything good to her pride. _Or to her relationship with her boss._

 _And then came the deep voice calling from the leader's room…_

* * *

 **So, did you like it?**

 **I hope things didn't look too mixed/overcomplicated... :S**

 **Opinion?**


	7. Chapter 6

**Hey!**

 **Thanks for the reviews, they gave me the enthusiasm to this chappy! :D  
**

 **(Also, it was inspired by the song Angel With A Shotgun.)**

 **But getting back to Chappy 6: here it comes, I hope you will like it! :D**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 6**_

"What? Where?" Nataliya couldn't tell if she misunderstood the man or her brain just refused to accept that he had advised – or to be precise, ordered - to jump.

"Out of the train. Listen, Ada is a well trained assassin, it was a wonder that you could get away from her. If we don't get off, she'll…" Looking at Nata, Alek decided not to continue the sentence.

"And our mission?"

"Don't argue, just come!" Alek growled, trying to unlock the door at the side of the car.

"Something is wrong with this." He muttered angrily. "It must have opened."

Nataliya took a step closer. "I also had problems using these when I changed cars."

Alek turned back to face her for a second, just to show another sophisticated way of expressing the phrase _"Shut up and let me do it!"_ to the woman.  
To his surprise, Nataliya didn't say a word: crossing her arms over her chest, she leaned to the wall, waiting patiently.

Alek let out a sigh and carried on to the problem, but he ended up pushing his body desperately to the door while widening Nata's swear word vocabulary.

"Calm down big boy, furry won't help us." The woman said, but she failed to think with a cold head too. And the more and more gunshots didn't help either.

Alek shook his head. "There must be a way." He grabbed a spear from the ground. "If not the door, then... this…"

On the left of them was a long glass wall that rose up to the level of their hips. It was supposed to be only a decorative piece of design, but the man was concerned that it would make a perfect exit for the two of them.

He raised the spear to break it, but a shivering hand caught his.

"Wait!" Nataliya's face was white. "Alek, I have to tell you something…"

"Oh, no, please, leave the _'Before we die you have to know that…'_ part!" He rolled his eyes.

"Would you mind listening to what I say only once in our lives? I have Hemophilia, so that I can bleed to death from a single cut. And if you break that…" Nataliya yelled, but regretted it as a furious blonde appeared at their backs.

"Hey, the little girl had shown her voice!" Ada wheezed. "And here's Alek too… How could you survive against Anton, sweetheart?"

 _Anton?_ Nata glared, then came a groan from the ground. _So he is the man who confronted Alek._

"You underestimated me, honey." Alek responded. He felt the woman caress his jaw with the handle of her gun. "But why do I feel that you are here for more than seeing us off?"

Ada smiled and gathered her arms around his muscular body. "My problem is the girl." She gestured towards Nataliya. "Just let me take care of her and then I'll make sure you'll have some fun."

"I knew I shouldn't have let you come with me." Alek exhaled slowly. "Now go before I'll have to hurt you."

Nataliya gasped indignantly. _She nearly killed me and he would just… just…_

"I am afraid, I can't." Ada said stubbornly. "Not without knowing that that backstabber isn't breathing anymore."

"Allright." Alek smiled, kissing her forehead and stepped backwards, glancing at the stiff scared Nata.

The woman with the gun nodded thankfully and rose her weapon to shoot.  
Nataliya just moved to combat position, facing her enemy bravely in spite of the hopeless situation.

 _Is that girl crazy?_ Alek gasped looking at Nata. However, it wasn't her he had to concentrate on. The right moment was to come and…

As Ada pulled the trigger, he launched himself to her and tossed her hand, so the bullet did nothing, but shattered the glass behind them into fragments and microscopical derbis.  
Then, he ran to Nata and lifted her up into his arms. Embracing her, he threw themselves out of the vehicle to the snowy ground.

-.-.-

"So you deny the statement that you have wittingly left agent Radova poison you on your mission?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Were there any signs of what agent Radova planned to do after the assault?"

"I don't know, Sir."

"Agent Spaskaya, that's not an answer!"

Irina looked up to the man sitting in front of her. She was fed up. The questions he had been torturing her with for hours were all the same and she had to repeat herself again and again, mainly admitting that she is a stupid person, incapable of any spying activity.  
 _And why can't he even pronunce his daughter's name Nataliya instead of this formal bullshit?_

"Sir, please, I am sure she had told us everything she knew. She is tired and needs to have a rest. There is no need for more…"

"There is." Radov interrupted the handsome young man next to him.

Irina had participated numerous self control trainings, but that time she couldn't take her gaze off him. He took her under his spell and she had no chance to escape.

 _Why is my heart beating so fast?_ She stuttered to herself as he smiled encouragingly to her.

Then, the boy whispered something she couldn't understand into the man's ears. The Lucian-head contemplated it and then nodded.

Irina waited worriedly for the judgement.

"As a person being responsible for the future of a whole branch… and also as a father, the decision was hard to make." The man's grey eyes – the same colour as Nataliya's – dig into her soul. "Everyone makes mistakes. Some of them are insignificant and some of them are fatal… But most of the mess can be corrected, can't it? So, Irina, because of your promising talent I still believe in, I decided to give you a second chance."

 _Yes, yes, YES!_ Irina sighed from relief, then gaped _"Thanks!"_ to the young man who winked back to her.

Suddenly, a secretary ran into the office with an envelope. Her face was terrified.

 _Bad news._ Irina thought.

Radov read the letter carefully and his face turned darker and darker.

"That idiot jumped off a train? _WITH MY DAUGHTER?!_ " He was close to blowing up inside, but his expression stayed as if everything was ok.

Irina stood up slowly from her chair to sneak out, but he stopped her.

"We are not done." He said. "I want to send you on another mission."

Irina's eyes widened.

"It seems that the backup team lost the track of your brother and Nata as the result of an unfortunate… event." For the first time in her life, the woman saw anxiety on her boss's face. "You have a week to bring them back from wherever they are." He looked up from the letter. "If you fail… then you shouldn't even return – and I'm saying this for your own good. Understood?"

She hesitated for a moment, then shouted a "Yes, Sir!".

Walking out the office, Irina peered out of the window. Snow was falling outside. _Maybe the last white flakes she could see in her life._

 _That quest…_ She took a deep breath. _It is not only about Nata anymore. It never was. If the girl dies, I will fall with her. Argh, she cannot even recognize the one that means the real danger to her.  
And it's not any other branch or the cruel weather, but Alek._

* * *

 **That's it for now.**

 **See ya later! :)**


	8. Chapter 7

**Hey Everyone!**

 **I just finished the 7th chapter, I hope it will be enjoyable! :D  
(Also, it got a bit longer than the previous ones. ^.^ )**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 7**_

 _Snow…  
_ It covered the pine trees, snowdrifts followed each other, the big flakes were falling gracefully from the sky, which had the same colour: white. She couldn't tell where the horizon lay, because all she could see was that one, blinding shade.

Nataliya watched as her smoke-like breath was blown away by the freezing breezes. Although she was only wearing her not-so-warm winter jacket above her sweatshirt, she didn't feel the need of any more layers of cloth. The cold helped her. As the fresh oxygen emerged through her airways, she could see everything clearer. However, she still needed time to get used to the fact that she was… _where?_

Her leg slipped on the icy ground, so she began a desperate 'dance' for balance… or at least that was what it looked like from the perspective of the man. _  
_Rolling his eyes, Alek Spasky kept walking without helping her, as if she was invisible for him. When Nataliya finally fell, he didn't even bother to look back.

"Hey!" She shouted after him. "Wait!"

 _Is he deaf?_ Nataliya growled as she peered at Alek, who was getting further and further from her.

"Ouch!" She groaned as pain entered her side on which she landed. She did a fast check for any open wounds and stated calmly to herself that she wasn't hurt.  
Then, she jumped up and ran after Alek.

-.-.-

"Finally!" Nataliya shouted triumphantly after reaching Alek again, grabbing the man's pullover, which could have also been called a tatter with the holes on it.  
They were created when they jumped out of the train. To avoid any chance of Nataliya bleeding, Alek turned his body that way that they hit the rocky field on his back. And despite denying it agressively all the time she asked him, the woman was sure that he got hurt. He kept touching his scapula too often…

"Alek… About the train…" Nataliya looked at him, but he didn't move his head.

"Hey, , I'm talking to you!" She shook her hand playfully before him, but the man caught her wrist.

"I don't care." He said, looking into her eyes. "Whatever you say… it's not my problem, got it? You've got us into enough trouble today."

Nataliya froze. "I just wanted to say thank you for… Wait, what do you mean by that?"

"If you are thankful enough, you will leave as soon as we arrive to the next city or village. And you heard it well. That thing on the train… Everything was your mistake. If Ada wouldn't have recognised you…"

"How dare you say that?!" Nata gasped. "I came here to complete a mission. Just let me ask: who told her to come? And who let her do it with a gun in her bag?"

"I would have taken more advantage of her than you." Alek answered coldly, abandoning the question.

"She wasn't even working for the Lucians! And anyway, why can't you just… simply… be a bit… nicer to me? I am doing my best to make our relationship better, but you…"

"Because there is no need for me to do so."

"You… you… I HATE you, you JERK!" Nataliya yelled."But you know what? I'll make it myself. Get the clue and… and wipe that boastful smirk off your face!"

With those words, she began running.

"You will slip again." Alek sighed, but the woman was unstoppable. "Hey!"

He watched her getting to the side of forest in front of them.  
 _If she got in there, I would easily lose the track of her._

Then, as if she'd read in his thoughts, Nataliya turned back and started sprinting towards him twice faster.

Alek shook his head.

"Changed your mind, _princess_?" He asked mockingly. He was waiting for a furious reply, rejecting the _princess_ word, but instead, he heard something like…

"Bee!"

 _Typical. She is a brave hero at the start, then a tiny insect appears…_ Alek burst out laughing.

However, his joy didn't last for long: a brown, furry creature appeared behind Nata.

"Run you idiot!" She cried desperately. "It's a beeaaaaarrrrrr!"

Alek's eyes widened. Nataliya's voice was echoing in his ears.

 _Do it. She can't be saved, the bear has nearly reached her. She will take its attention for some minutes so that you can escape._

But he couldn't move. Not from the sight of the vulnerable woman becoming the victim of the beast.

He saw Nata slip again and fall to her knees. He saw the tears rolling down her cheeks. He saw the bear rising above her shivering figure.

And then, he did something against his own will. He raised his arms to the sky and began making noises.

"Hey, monster, I am here!" He yelled. "Catch me if you can!"

"Alek, no! Stop!" Nataliya groaned under the heavy animal. "You have to get away safe and…"

Then, she felt the pressure of the bear on her back disappear. It left her alone and jumped at Alek.

Nataliya stared at the scene, paralized from fear. But what came next was the furthest thing from what she had expected.

The bear rested its deadly paws on Alek's chest, starting to lick his face with its big tongue.

"Eh… uh… ah…" Alek moaned.

"Little Spencer is very sociable. He loves making friends."

Nataliya turned to peek at the smiling lumberjack behind her.

" _Little Spencer?!_ " She needed some seconds to realise who that name truly refered to.

"I've had him since he was a cub." The man said. He had such a long beard that Nata was sure that he hadn't shaved for years. "He is the one guarding the forest from those hooligans."

"Oh, so that's why he came when I wanted to get past it." Nataliya thought loudly.

"My darling has a good eye for people. He can feel if someone is a good person or not. And the two of you being alive is the evidence of that you aren't tramps trying to steal my wood." The man nodded.

 _My Darling? Really?!_

"What a heartwarming story." They heard the annoyed Alek, who was still stuck under the animal. "Now, would you please free me from this beast?"

"Oh, yes. Baby boy, come here!"

As he heard his owner's call, Spencer left Alek and made his way towards the lumberjack.

"Good job, _baby boy_!" Alek grumbled.

"But what brought you here?" The man asked Nata. "I hardy ever meet people here. We're in the middle of Siberia after all."

"We had an accident." She cut the reply short. "But we have to get to… to the nearest town… or at least an inhabited area."

"Oh, poor ones..." The man said with symphaty. "Well… the closest village is about 50 kilometres away from where I live. And there's no public transport: no trains, buses..."

From the devastated expression of Nataliya, the ice on the old lumberjack's heart seemed to melt.

"Maybe I can help you." He said. "The journey is long, so you should come to my house to have a rest. My wife is a perfect cook, she can give you some warm food and… " He examined the two of them carefully. "I think both of you are in need of some dry clothes."

Nataliya felt like crying – she was touched by the kindness of the lumberjack.

"Thank you, Sir!" She said, avoiding Alek's glance throwing daggers.

The man patted the head of his _pet_ and turned to guide them to his home.

 _Are you mad? This guy is insane! He has a bear... and calls it Spencer!_ Alek's gaze messaged.

But before he could tell his thoughts out loud, the animal walked to Nata and pushed his side to hers softly.

Nataliya looked puzzledly at his owner.

"He wants you to ride him." He laughed delightedly. "He must feel sorry for scaring you. Just jump on him and grab his ears!"

"Ah…" Nataliya understood from his expression that neither him nor his bear were used to being turned down, so she sat carefully on Spencer and gripped his ears, paying extra attention not to cause him any pain. Then, she caressed him under his ears, which made the animal to snuggle with his head to her fingers. Although she had imagined his fur rough, it felt rather silky. She had to admit that in spite of being wild and dangerous, the bear could be considered cute in his own way.

"Seems he likes you really much!" The lumberjack smiled. "He is adorable, isn't he?"

"He is…" Alek, who had already stood up, wiped the bear's saliva off his face with the sleeve of his pullover. "He tossed me to the ground and licked me to dead, but nevermind." He muttered under his breath. "And now he is carrying _her_?!"

"Don't be jealous!" Nata giggled. "You'll have the opportunity to that aswell, if you want it so bad!"

-.-.-

The trip through the forest was breathtaking. They were following the line of a river covered by ice, ending in a frozen waterfall. Once a white fox crossed the narrow road, at another time an owl swooshed above their heads. Stalactites hang from the trees, turning them into the mystical and beautiful ornaments of the timberland.

When he heard people talking about the magical side of winter, Alek always thought of the pictures taken of snowy buildings in the pale sunlight. The whole image of them was too idealized for him and unreal, but this… this was not made up. This view was real and even though he did his best to hide his amazement, he couldn't help peeking to every direction for the wonders revealing themselves one by one.

Then, a light appeared, growing as they approached its source. When they arrived in the clearing, a cozy small house entered their vision.

"Welcome home!" The lumberjack said proudly, gesturing towards the door.

* * *

 **So... um... that's it!**  
 **If you have some spare time, please drop me a review, I'd appreciate it really much! :D**


	9. Chapter 8

**Hi Everyone!**

 **Chapter 8 is here!**

 **Before all, special thanks goes to Katja for helping me to choose the name for the character Andrey! ^^**

 **Also, I'm really grateful for the reviews, they are the ones that make me eager to write - even if it's only possible on phone at the moment xD -** **more and more! :D**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 8**_

For the first time in her mission, Nataliya felt delighted. Having bathed, she lay down onto her bed in the clean clothes the wife of the lumberjack had given her, reading a book about gardening, which wasn't interesting at all, but suited perfectly the "I survived a moaning blonde and a bear an hour ago, now time to relax." atmosphere that fell over her.

But the best happy-factor was yet to come: she wasn't forced to be on the same quartermetre as Alek. Nata's face still turned red from laughter whenever she remembered her new friend, Spencer, the bear being - as Alek said - an oversized, life-threatening furball. Thanks to him, Alek spent every second after their arrival washing the saliva off his face, sometimes commenting the process with some four-letter words.

Nata was already digging deep into the secrets of the tulip species, when the lumberjack, who turned out to be called Vasil , knocked on her door, announcing that the dinner was ready.

"Could you tell Alek about it too?" He asked her. "I am not sure if he'd heard me."

Nata nodded and made her way to the man in the bathroom with the speed and enthusiasm of a sleepy sloth.

-.-.-

Alek was taking off his tattered pullover and T-shirt to examine the wound on his back, when he heard someone shouting to him. He couldn't understand a word from the noise of the water emerging out of the tap, so he barked a bored "Come in already!"

Nata sneaked into the room with her gaze fixed on the floor, then she cleared her throat and 'delivered' the message.

"What?" Alek asked again and closed the tap. "Please, repeat..."

As he turned to look at Nata, his mouth stayed open. The white dress on her was terribly ugly, old fashioned, full of holes... and she looked stunningly beautiful in it. Not to talk about her grey eyes that shimmered from the light... and embarrassement. However, fortunately for her, Alek didn't notice the last thing.

"The... the dinner... is ready." Nataliya mumbled from the sight of his bare, muscular chest and abdomen.

Without having the slighest idea of what she was doing, she touched the scar near his ribs and caressed the thin red line of it. To her surprise, instead of shoving her hands away, Alek tilted his head cutely to the right, stepping closer to her. As an answer, Nata's fingers wandered up to the side of his neck, feeling his pulse. Then, the man's strong arms stared to close up on her hips...

...And this was enough to bring the woman back to reality.

 _What has got into me again?_

"Sorry... Um... now I'll go..." She stuttered, breathing fast.

As no reply came, she peeked at Alek's face, examining all his handsome features. She couldn't read in his thoughts, but she had a feeling that this could be considered lucky in that situation.

Nata started backing out to the corridor, but she ended up colliding to the wall.

 _Damn!_ She groaned and walked to the door, which wouldn't move. _I cannot believe! Did everything on Earth conspirate to make my life miserable?_

"Push it stronger." Alek advised annoyedly, but when he saw how helpless the woman was, he stepped to her and with a confident motion, he tossed the door open. "See?"

"T-thanks!" Nata was paralized: he was within arms reach the second time.

She blushed and turned away to exit, but then Alek stopped her by leaning to the wall with his left hand, forming a barrier between her and the way out.

Nata gazed at him with a mixture of fear and tension.

"Huh?"

She jammed her back to the wall as he leaned closer and lifted her chin with a single index finger to force her to look into his eyes. His irises were the same blue, but darker... scarily darker... _What does he want?_

"Alek?" She asked, panicing.

Hearing his name, Alek thought for a second, then regained his old, grumpy self and let her go.

"We'll have to talk." He growled on the way back to his room. "Somewhere secure."

Having awoken from the shock, Nata found herself alone in the bathroom, tapping a monotonous rythm on the dirty-white tile.

 _What the dancing polar bear was that with Alek? What did I think I was doing? And_ _why did he change his mind, when he obviously wanted to say something? And why did he come so... close?_

Then, the odour of the fresh-made dinner filled her nose. Following it, she walked down to the kitchen where the others were waiting for her.

-.-.-

The lumberjack wasn't exaggerating his wife's cooking skills: Nata had never eaten such delicious food before. As she was swallowing the fine, vapouring soup spoon by spoon, she felt warmth coming from the inside, spreading pleasantly all over her body.

"The forest is breathtaking this time of the year, what you saw on the way here was just a small bite." Vasil said after finishing his dessert. "You should check it out before you leave for the city."

Nataliya thanked him the advice. "Worths a try!" She smiled at Alek, but he gave no answer.

 _He is too quiet._ She thought suspiciously. _No rude put downs, not even a grumble..._

She looked at him questioningly, but received a "Mind your own buisness!" glance, so she turned away to chat with Vasil instead.

-.-.-

Having done the dishes, Nata decided to explore the stable next to the house. Because of spending most of her life in the Lucian stronghold, she hardy ever had the chance to meet animals. Walking to the exit, she went past Alek's room and nearly invited him to come to figure out what had happened between the two of them, but she changed her mind. She had to clear her thoughts and with him, she would have got even more confused.

 _I wonder what the others are doing at home. Irina must be planning to kill me for sure..._ She smiled, being unaware of how right she was.

-.-.-

"So I'll have to go to the train station and investigate..." Irina glanced at the woman at the Special Equipment Giveout desk. "...just because it doesn't sound like a super dangerous task, I suppose I still deserve _at least_ a gun!"

The lady looked at her sympathetically.

"I'm sorry, but these are all I can give to you." She provided her with poison needles, a tracker device, a special phone, a thick arctic coat and googles with thermal camera.

Irina nodded disappointedly, then stalled to her tiny office and put the gadgets into her bag, checking if she had packed all the necessary stuff into it, then put on her new camouflage: she turned into some kind of geologist...

"Great..." She growled to herself, looking into the mirror. "Hi, I'm Doctor Spasky. I am obsessed with the podzol soil blah, blah, blah..." She frowned. "This mission isn't the real punishment... my alias is..."

"At least your uniform looks cute on you!"

Frowning, Irina searched for the source of the voice, but she had to surrender. "Ok, where are you?"

"Over here!"

She felt someone embrace her from the behind.

"Andrey!" Irina laughed. "Shouldn't you be with the..."

"They can wait." The man grinned. "I had to see you before you left."

Irina blushed. "Oh... ok... Eh, I nearly forgot to say thanks for your help at the interrogation."

"Come on, it was nothing, I'd do that for you any other time!" He kissed her forehead, then slipped something into her pocket. "Keep safe!"

She peeked down.

"Later," Andrey murmured and covered the object with his warm palm, preventing her from catching a glimpse of it. "when you are out of the stronghold."

"But why -"

"Agent Spaskaya, it's time to go!" Yelled someone harshly from the outside.

"That's the last call..." Irina looked meaningfully at Andrey. "If we can't meet again..."

"We will." He interrupted and before she could have protested or queued up the army of doubts she had, he pressed his lips on hers. _We definitely will._

* * *

 **That's all for today.**

 **(Reviews are well appreciated!)**

 **Thanks for reading! :D**


	10. Chapter 9

**Hi Everyone!**

 **I'm ready with chapter 9, so here I come:  
**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 9**_

The stable had a great oak door with a big, rusty iron handle. Anyone looking at it could have told that the building hadn't been used for its original purpose for about a decade. But maybe that was what made its atmosphere so magnificent. As Nata sneaked through the half-open doorway, her cheeks turned red by the warmth coming from the inside. She combed a naughty lock of hair away from her face with three fingers, then with nothing clinging into her vision anymore, she peeked around herself.

To her disappointment, there were no horses neighing inside, the whole area was empty. In a corner lay a big mass of hay, on the other side, there was a shelf with strange tools she had never ever seen before. She walked to them and examined each one curiously, but she couldn't tell what they were good for. Then, her eyes were tempted away by the source of the heat waves that melted the ice off her boots. Right at the left-side main wall took place an old-style fireplace. Small flames were licking the dry pieces of wood inside. Spellbound by the dancing tongues of fire, she sat on a hay-hill.

She heard the chilly, snowy wind blowing outside. She could imagine the pleasant drafts turning into a blizzard without any warning, with snowflakes swooshing up and down, left and right in chaos...  
The same way the new feeling appeared out of the blue in her brain. _Was it remorse? Shame?_ She didn't know, but from the moment the fresh air helped her to see clearly, her eyes started to burn. _  
_

 _Are you an idiot? Caressing him?!_ Her inner self kept scolding her. _Remember what he said? And what he did? That womanizing asshole doesn't even deserve your attention, so stop this outrageous behaviour, young lady!  
_

Winking a teardrop away, her lips curled up to a pale smile. Whenever she did something that her sense of justice was protesting against, her old nanny's picture loomed into her vision with her big and said-to-be expensive coat Nata had once decorated with a 'beautiful' painting of flowers, hearts and smiling faces. She was about 5 that time and to put it mildly, the elder lady didn't really appreciate the evoking Janus inside of her - Nata had never heard anyone shouting so high-tonedly before. It was that funny voice her imagination created. Even the _"young lady"_ part was unmistakable.

Turning serious again, she sighed and buried her face in her warm hands, peering at the fireplace.

 _This can't go on this way. I shouldn't get close to him... I shouldn't...  
...Huh?  
_

She felt a cold _something_ being pushed to her. At first, she thought that she had hit her head to an ornament on the wall, but then it started smelling her.  
She turned her head to its direction to check what it was to meet the round-shaped, black nose of Spencer, the bear.

"Um... hi!" Nataliya greeted the animal as it licked her face. Immediately, she understood why the building was heated and what purpose the tools were there for. It was _Little_ Spencer's 'cave'. And she was sitting right where the bear usually rested.

"Eh... sorry, it seems I just conquered your place." She stood up slowly. As she moved, Spencer - nearly gamboling from happiness - rushed away, or to be more precise, _tried to rush_ with his great paws, returning with a deep iron bowl in his mouth.

"Are you hungry?" Nata asked worriedly. _Being closed together with a starving bear meant no fun after all..._

Spencer tossed her side a bit roughly and pressed his head to her fingers.

"You want to lead me somewhere, don't you?" Nataliya stuttered and as an answer, Spencer snuggled to her hand. Then, he took her to a cupboard and stopped in front of it.

"Ok, let's see!" She opened it, surprised at the hidden freezer inside. Before she could have examined it better, Spencer dropped the bowl and wanted to climb into the small fridge, which nearly made Nata fall, and finally, took out a meat-cube.

"Ew..." The woman watched as the bear carried his food away to a corner and ate it happily, licking the corner of his wide mouth.

 _Sharp teeth..._ Nata thought as an eyetooth of the bear shimmered in the dark for a second. However, to her own surprise, she wasn't afraid anymore. _He's like a dog... In XXXXL size._ She smiled to herself. Spencer distracted all her attention from her problems, which made her grateful. _  
_

"Thanks!" She murmured to him. "You know, it's good that you're here... even though you can't comprehend a word I am saying."

Spencer tilted his head, not getting what the _lovely, but strange human_ was talking about, then he went up to the her, claiming a caress.

Nata crouched and patted him under his ears. When her legs got weak from the position, she sat down, leaning half to the wall, half to the animal.

"But really? What should I do? I mean... I... he... his moves are so unforeseeable. Once he is 'rudest person No.1', but in another situation, he is risking his own life to save me... Ugh!"

"And you know what's the worst?" Nata smiled sadly. "That he makes me behave unpredictably too. And it's dangerous for me, for my mission... for everyone."

The bear yawned, making her giggle. "All right, all right, I won't bore you to death."

 _And anyway, I've already made up what to do._ She added in thought, smirking. _Last time, on the train, I got shocked, but it won't happen anymore._ _Years of training... I'll use what I've learnt there._ _And I have a feeling that Mr. Spasky won't be a fan of it._

Spencer looked at her with wide eyes. Although he was just an animal, Nataliya was sure that he had a sense to notice when someone was upset, because he lay his head on her lap softly - which, she thought, could be translated as a comforting gesture in bear-language - forming a warm and fluffy 'blanket' on her.  
She fell silent. Staying there, caressing his fur, she could hear the wind whistle outside again.

Pleasant tiredness filled her body. Slowly, the gap between her eyelids started to shrink.

-.-.-

"Hey, _Sloth_ , it's time to get up!" Alek Spasky yelled angrily in front of Nata's door. It had been about the third time that morning that he tried to wake her up - unsuccessfully. "We're going to town and if you don't come out of your room, we'll leave you here!"

 _Silence._

"Come on, I'm not joking!"

 _Silence._

"I'll use a spear!"

 _Silence._

"I don't even know why I am bothering myself with this..."

 _Silence._

"If you don't answer, I'll go in!"

 _Silence._

"Ok, now!" Alek moved the handle and noticed to his own surprise that the room wasn't even locked.

"Wake up!" He shouted stepping in, but found the place empty. " _Sloth_ , where are you?"

Then, he saw a flash under the window, making him chuckle.

-.-.-

"Hmph..." Half consciously Nata removed the thing that stuck to her face. "What's this?"

Her eyes narrowed, focusing on the piece of hay between her fingers. "What was this doing on... Oh no!"

"Oh, me... idiot!" Realizing that she had fallen asleep in the stable, she jumped up, getting rid of the hay in her hair and on her clothes on the way. "What's the time? Vasil told us to be ready at 9 and I haven't even... _NO, NO, NO!_ "

Breathing hard, Nataliya sprinted out of the stable, getting faster as she saw the car parking at the entrance of the house. She sneaked in, satisfied that no one had seen her, then ran up the stairs into her room and...

"What the hell are you doing here?!" She growled as she bumped into Alek looking out of her window. Hearing her, the man turned to the woman's direction.

"Nice running-time for a _sloth_." He smirked, stopping the timer of the watch he'd found on her desk. "Let's see... 3 minutes from the stable to here... It's about 20 metres... If we add the fact that it was you and generously divide the time by 2, then..."

"Wha-?" Nata gasped, then her cheeks turned red. She went for Alek to take her gadget back. "It's not funny! Give it back!"

"Hey, hey, how mad someone has just became!" The man laughed evilly, holding his arm to the sky, so that she couldn't reach it. "Wow, I've never thought you were that small-"

He paused as Nata calmly hit a nerve-point on his arm, making the muscle of his hands open his fingers and drop the device, right into her palm that was waiting patiently for its arrival under his.

"Thank you, Sir!" She showed him her most glamourous smile. Alek was only looking at her, gaping like a fish.

Then, the lumberjack entered the room.

"The _taxi_ is ready!" He said jokingly. "A wonderful day awaits us!"

"Oh, it does for sure!" Nata smirked at Alek, following the cheerfully whistling Vasil guiding them to the car.

* * *

 **So, yeah, this part was rather about the inner thinking thingy and not the acts, but I tried hard *sweats* to make in more enjoyable, so I hope none of you had fallen asleep while reading.  
So, after all, please share your opinion either if you did or didn't, because this is the best way I can improve. (What's more, if it made someone have a nap, then I can patent it as a cure against insomnia and become a millionaire -hell yeah! :D)  
** **Anyway, as a little hint, I can say that in the next chapters, the old action will return and um... you'll see, I'll try to update as frequently as I can. ;)**


	11. Chapter 10

**Hi Everyone!  
**

 **I'm here with Chapter 10, thanks for reading! ;)**

* * *

 _ **Chapter 10**_

Whenever Alek heard the phrase "vintage car", _a well-maintained_ , old vehicle came into his vision. No wonder he became quite interested when Vasil offered to take them with one to the nearest village. However, sitting on the backseat behind Nata, listening to Vasil's monologue about his favourite types of wine, he had to realise that the word "vintage" was referring to something else. Not as if the age of the car didn't meet the requirements... it was rather its conditions...

"I bought this baby about 5 years ago from my colleague." He heard Vasil talking to Nata. "That idiot... I still cannot believe why he felt so happy about getting rid of her." He took one of his hands off the wheel and patted the machine proudly. "I even got some extra spare parts from him!"

 _Why do I have the feeling that the deal didn't include any shock absorbers?_ Alek groaned inside as the car kept jumping above the potholes of the road, then falling back to hit his head to the ceiling.

"Wow!" Nata smiled. "This is really... nice. To be honest, I didn't believe we could go this fast."

"Oh, darling, this is just her basic velocity. Wait a bit and you will see..." Vasil winked at Nata, then pressed the accelerator with full of his strength. As the little needle of the speedometer started to make its way to the max, making the rusty engine work harder, the car began to clatter scarily with the danger of falling apart. "Yahooo!"

 _No!_ Alek put his arms above his head for protection. He peeked above Nata's seat to see the woman's face in the mirror, expecting her to ask Vasil to stop. However, instead of the green colour of someone who is about to vomit, he could read nothing, but joy from her expressions. She was enjoying herself!

"How far is the village anyway?" Nata asked the lumberjack next to her, smirking. Alek couldn't help staring at her again. It was the same feeling that filled his mind when he saw her for the first time in the stronghold, on the train or when she came to call him for dinner. _Her glittering eyes, her warm smile..._ they were killing him.  
No, it wasn't love torturing him _or at least he hoped so_. It was rather the need his womanizing self felt every time a pretty girl got close to him. And the problem? She was his mission partner. He couldn't put a finger on her... that was the rule. And he hated her for it, hated her for forcing him to pay attention every minute to keep the distance.

 _Take her as a person you have to look after._ He told himself. _And there are more beautiful girls after all... For example, there's Ada... I wonder where she is right now..._

"We are nearly on the spot." Vasil interrupted his thoughts. "Now we are heading to a short road through the forest. At the end of it, you will notice the first houses."

Nata nodded lightheartedly, then turned to the mirror to see Alek's reaction. When their gazes met - which took her by surprise - with her smile fading away, she looked away shyly as fast as she could.

"Is there any bus or train station?" Alek asked, breaking his 2-hour-long silence.

"There are buses." The lumberjack answered, then peered down at his watch. "If we are lucky, we will be there right when one arrives."

"And if we aren't?"

"Then, I am afraid, you'll have to wait a day for the next coach."

.-.-.

When rooftops appeared on the horizon, Alek and Nata knew that they had arrived. The village itself was smaller than any of them suspected, but it had a friendly atmosphere. They might have enjoyed it a lot - if they weren't running for time... They said goodbye to Vasil, who hugged both of them and made them promise that they would return sometime. Nata thanked him for his help and asked him to greet Little Spencer in her name. Then, Vasil went back to his car and waving to them with one of his hands, he drove off, disappearing the same way he turned up: fading away behind the trees of the forest.

After the scene, Alek peeked at the clock on the house nearby. It was 09:59, which meant that they had only a minute to get to the bus stop.

"Come on, we have to go!" He told the sleepy Nata and they started to sprint. "You've heard him, we have to catch this!"

"Can you see it?" Nata asked out of breath after bolting up a hill.

"Just come!" Alek shook his head angrily.

The woman nearly fell to the ground from fatigue, but didn't stop.  
And then they arrived _\- to find the whole place empty._

Nata sat down desperately on a bench, inhaling the cold air to calm herself down.

"We... we are... late..." She mumbled sadly. "What now?"

Alek swore and pushed his fist to the wall, then, when he realised that she was watching him, he sighed and walked up to her, sitting down on her left.

"We'll stay and wait."

Nata nodded obediently and looked around. The wind was freezing and she started to feel cold. Alek noticed it and caught the bag, Vasil's wife had given them, from the ground. He opened it and took out a blanket.

"Put it on, it helps." He said in a rough way.

"Thanks!" Nata's numb hand caught the thin piece of cloth, then unfolded it and laid it on both of them.

"This way it worths nothing, I don't need it!" The man growled. "I'm not-"

"Don't lie!" Nata interrupted. "You are shivering."

Alek rose and eyebrow at this, but stopped protesting as an old lady with a walking stick appeared from the direction they had come from.

"Excuse me, young man, could you help me?" She turned to Alek and handed him her heavy bags. "That terrible coach is always late..."

Nata's eyes widened. "Pardon? You said that the coach is..."

"How does my cat come here?" The lady asked loudly, not understanding a word. "Sorry, dear, I'm hard of hearing..."

"The bus! Is it really late?" Alek asked, nearly yelling.

"Oh, yes, the bus... nowadays the drivers are so lazy that it might be delayed by more than 10 minutes..." The elder woman lifted up her stick as if she was about to curse the whole service. "If you knew how many letters of complaint I've written... But those stupid people do nothing. Oh, back in my day..."

But neither Nata nor Alek paid any attention to her anymore.

"We made it, we made it!" They nearly hugged each other from happiness, leaving the lady confused.  
Then, as the bus arrived, they got on it fast, happily that they would be soon back to civilisation _._

.-.-.

Why does a geologist show so much interest in trains? That was a question that popped up in the head of most of the Novosibirsk train station's employees. And Irina could be really grateful that none of them asked her that, because she couldn't answer either.

She was in her terrible uniform-camouflage, walking on the platform to the black Lucian vehicle from which Nata and Alek jumped off. She had to find them and the train was the only clue left for her.

As locomotive stopped, she climbed through the doorway. The light was on, but otherwise, there was no sign of any other passengers. It was cold inside and strange perfume odour was floating in the air.

 _Someone must have been here..._ Irina stated, releasing her needles. She sneaked from car to car with the stealth of a cat, looking into the cabs.

Finally, she got to the source of the cold: the shattered window her silly brother used to 'leave'.

"Alek, who made you run? Where are you, hmm?" She sighed, then took out her phone. She had a report to make. _  
_

After about 3 beeps, her call was answered. Irina gathered all her strength together and began to speak.

"Sir, the train was empty. I've found no sign of either our agents..." She took a deep breath. "or the ones attacking them..."

* * *

 **That's it for now, I hope it was enjoyable!  
Thank you for reading and if you have some spare time, please leave a review with your opinion/predictions! :)  
**

 **Bye for now!**


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